South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, removing him from office.
“[T]he respondent violated the Constitution and laws by declaring a state of emergency in this case, thereby recreating a history of the abuse of national emergency powers, shocking the people and causing chaos in all areas of society, the economy, politics, and diplomacy,” Acting court chief Moon Hyung-bae said.
“As the president of all the people, the respondent violated his duty to unite the society, transcending his support base. Through mobilization of the military and police that undermined the authority of constitutional bodies such as the National Assembly and infringed upon the basic human rights of the people, he abandoned his duty to protect the Constitution and severely betrayed the trust of the people of the Republic of Korea, the sovereign citizens of a democratic republic,” he said, noting that Yoon’s actions were “unconstitutional and unlawful.”
“Because the respondent’s illegal actions and their consequent effects have had a significant negative impact on the constitutional order, it is recognized that the benefits of protecting the Constitution by removing the respondent outweigh the national losses that would result from the president’s dismissal,” Moon declared.
Yoon was impeached in December after he declared martial law. The opposition Democratic Party and five other opposition parties submitted the impeachment motion. The motion obtained 190 signatures from opposition lawmakers and one independent lawmaker.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration was a clear violation of the constitution. It didn’t abide by any requirements to declare it,” the Democratic Party said in a statement at the time. “His martial law declaration was originally invalid and a grave violation of the constitution. It was a grave act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his impeachment.”
